The South-South zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the suspension of Minister of State (Petroleum), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri by the party’s executive in his local government in Bayelsa State.
In a statement by the Zonal Legal Adviser of the party, Chukwuemeke Ogbuobodo and other zonal officers condemned the suspension which they described as illegal, null and void.
Ogbuobodo argued that the LG executives can not be judge in the matter and referred the LG party executive “to see article 21.3 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (a) (b) (c) (d) and (e) of the party’s Constitution and see the procedure for hearing and determination of complaints or allegations.”
Warning the LG executive that “they are not above the law and not to see any other person as beneath it,” he said that “APC is not a party for supermen but a party guided by rules of law.”
NewsNGR reports that Lokpobiri and the 2019 gubernatorial candidate of the party in the state, David Lyon, were suspended by the Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor LGAs for what they called anti-party activities.
Questioning where they derived their powers to hand down suspension from, Ogbuobodo asked, “who gave you the power to suspend the Minister?”
He stressed that, “As a consequence, the decision by the so-called LG Executive of APC is unknown to both the party’s Constitution and the laws of the land.”
He urged “party members in Bayelsa State and members of the general public to disregard the purported suspension of Senator Lokpobiri by individuals who are out to confuse the Bayelsa State chapter of the party.
While commending Lokpobiri for his invaluable contributions to the successes being recorded by President Bola Tinubu’s administration as Minister of State (petroleum), Ogbuobodo urged the minister not to be distracted by the antics of those who do not mean well for the state.
“Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has demonstrated capacity as a minister and has attracted meaningful development projects to Bayelsa in particular and the South-South region in general.
“The action of these individuals was borne out of envy and a wicked plot to destabilise APC in Bayelsa State and the South-South Zone.
“This is why we condemn and reject the unlawful act and we urge all well-meaning party members in the county to do the same,” Ogbuobodo said in the statement.